Author: Leonard Buschel

VIDEO – HARM REDUCTION ON TAP – April 20, 2022 – FentCheck staples the strips from Canadian company BTNX to simple instructions for users to test their drugs. The results show up – like a pregnancy or COVID-19 test – with lines indicating positive or negative. “They are cheap, they are super easy to use and read and they give you a yes or a no that you can then use,” said Dr. Kathleen Clanon, medical director of Alameda County Health Care Services, which supports the distribution of fentanyl test strips and funds. “They are very sensitive, meaning that the…

VIDEO – IT’S THE SUBOXONE – May 6, 2022 – In 2021, Maine saw an estimated 636 people die from fatal overdoses, shattering the 2020 record of 504 fatalities, according to a report by the Rural Drug & Alcohol Research Program at the University of Maine’s Margaret Chase Smith Policy Center. Experts have said the crisis is being exacerbated by the lack of treatment programs, but sober living homes in Maine are helping fill that gap for people who need support now to get on the path to sobriety. Angie, who asked us not to use her last name, runs…

LIKE BINARY STARS – May 7, 2022 – Following the announcement of his split from Jolie in 2017, Pitt opened up about his struggles with addiction. “I can’t remember a day since I got out of college when I wasn’t boozing or had a spliff, or something. Something,” the Fight Club star told GQ at the time. While Pitt notes that he quit hard drugs when he became a father, he admitted that alcohol became an increasingly troubling crutch. “Truthfully I could drink a Russian under the table with his own vodka. I was a professional. I was good.”…

CROSSING THE LINE – May 6, 2022 – While most cocaine manufacturing still occurs in Colombia, Peru and Bolivia, EU experts are worried by the processing now taking place inside the 27-nation bloc, particularly in Belgium, Spain and the Netherlands. Between 2018 and 2020, 45 illicit production laboratories were discovered in the EU. Speaking at a news conference in Brussels, Laurent Laniel, a scientific analyst at the EMCDDA, said that cocaine powder is often smuggled from South America to Europe in carrier materials such as charcoal and plastics, then extracted in local laboratories. Alexis Goosdeel, the EMCDDA director, said…

THAT’S WHY IT’S SO EXPENSIVE! – May 5, 2022 – Police analysis determined the substance was cocaine. A search of five shipping containers “delivered the same day by train allowed for the seizure of more than 500kg of this drug,” police added. Police said they set up a large security perimeter around the factory during the operation, which also involved a large contingent of customs officers. The units containing the drugs were isolated, and the substance did not contaminate production at the plant, the statement said. The initial investigation indicated the shipment originated in Brazil, police said, adding that the…

VIDEO – GREED: AMERICAN STYLE – May 5, 2022 – Over a dozen defendants across eight federal districts have been charged in connection with the illegal prescription and distribution of 5.1 million opioid pills, the Justice Department announced Wednesday. The various law enforcement actions were the result of the department’s Appalachian Regional Prescription Opioid (ARPO) Strike Force, a multiagency approach that targets the unlawful prescription of opioid drugs across the Appalachian region. According to Assistant Attorney General Kenneth Polite, who was part of Wednesday’s criminal announcement in Cincinnati, Ohio, over 75,000 Americans died last year due to opioid overdoses.…

REVERSE GENERATIONS – May 7, 2022 – A week earlier, my phone buzzed as my husband and I waited on the tarmac at Denver International Airport, bound for a much-anticipated island vacation. “Ignore it,” Andy said when he saw my mom’s name on my phone screen. But I couldn’t. “Hi Mom,” I said, turning my eyes toward the ceiling as if I might find serenity among the call buttons and task lighting. “I’m not good, Krissy,” she squeaked, and I felt a familiar emptiness in my chest where compassion used to live. Calls from my mother ranged from panicked requests…

WHAT WORLD ARE WE IN? – April 30, 2022 – When one Baton Rouge woman’s daughter became pregnant while addicted to opioids, she did everything she could to get her daughter the right resources. Unable to locate an in-patient facility with availability, her out-patient option failed after her daughter disappeared — until she showed up at the hospital in labor. The baby tested positive for opioids at birth. At 60 years old, the woman, who declined be named for fear of stigmatizing her family, is now raising her granddaughter while her daughter still struggles with opioid use. “My daughter did…

NEW DOCUMENTARY – May 1, 2020 – “When I think back to that night [when he wanted to end it all], I wonder how could I have been thinking like that? Imagine all I would have missed,” he says. “My thinking was completely gone by then. So whether it’s a parent or someone you really trust, I’d hope they’d put a hand out and say ‘Listen, this is going on in my life…’ “In your mind you may have built it up to be so bad and often one big thing you can deal with, but it’s the five or…

NO MORE 3 MARTINI LUNCH – April 30, 2022 – “I wasn’t an alcoholic and never went to a 12-step program, yet I didn’t have a healthy relationship with alcohol. It had become the place I turned to numb, self-soothe or unwind. I knew I was doing it and wouldn’t stop,” Bouman wrote. Becoming sober helped her eliminate brain fog, munchies and even wrinkles. As a result of her public admission, Bouman said she has been able to make valuable connections with women — and clients — who support her journey. Some of these women admitted that they have also…

IF NOT NOW, WHEN? – May 1, 2022 – ‘We are not seeing “rock-bottom alcoholics” who look like they have no choice but to quit. Instead, we are seeing people who do not look on the outside like they have a problem with alcohol but nevertheless are making the choice to quit drinking.’ Author of books Why You Drink and How to Stop, Get Sober Get Free, and her newest book Soberful: Uncover a Sustainable, Fulfilling Life Free of Alcohol, Veronica co-hosts the renowned Soberful Podcast with Chip Somers, Russell Brand’s former ‘sober coach’ (now advising the UK government…

VIDEO – ONE BENCH PRESS AT A TIME – May 5, 2022 – His wake up call came when he got yet another drinking citation at 17, bringing it home to his father who was so used to the summons that he didn’t react. Fraser remembers thinking, “I can’t keep up these habits and call myself an elite athlete.” “I just said right then and there, ‘Alright, I won’t touch alcohol again,’” he says. Fraser says sobriety became easier once he developed safe, productive habits to replace excessive drinking, carving out an identity and personality not affiliated with alcohol.…

TAKING A STAND – May 4, 2020 – Dear Clear Eyes, Full Heart: I’m not going to tell you I think a second child in early sobriety, by choice, is a good idea. But I’m also not going to tell you it’s a tragically bad one, and why put yourself on a road to relapse and ruin? A lot of “old-timers” and rehab programs would warn you away from the idea with life-or-death certainty. I spoke to a friend of mine who spent years as a chemical-dependency counselor about your question; the first response was a wide-eyed shaking of the…

WHY? HOW? WHY? – April 30, 2022 – “This behavior is not something we condone, and we will continue to assist Milpitas PD with their investigation,” Mata said. “We need to be mindful of the fact that we are not immune to issues that plague society, in this case substance abuse. As humans we are not perfect, and mistakes will be made. Officer wellness is paramount and a priority at the agency,” Mata said, adding that police officers deal with or are exposed to trauma at a higher rate than the average citizen. “Any allegation of illegal drug use…

REAL DEATH – May 6, 2022 – Ohio State University officials sounded the alarm Thursday over the circulation of “fake Adderall” pills laced with fentanyl following the death of a student and the hospitalization of two others. “Our community has suffered a tragic loss with the death of one of our students earlier today,” OSU President Kristina Johnson said in a message shared with students, faculty and staff on Thursday. Johnson said another student was hospitalized in critical condition, while a third had been released from the hospital. She did not identify the dead student or the students who were…

“The decision whether or not to bear a child is central to a woman’s life, to her wellbeing and dignity. It’s a decision she must make for herself.” —Ruth Bader Ginsburg (Aug. 10, 1993 – Sept. 18, 2020)

AUDIO – TELLING THE TRUTH – April 21, 2022 – On this episode of Next Question with Katie Couric, Katie invites her friend and award winning broadcast journalist Elizabeth Vargas to co-host and help find some understanding about why women are drinking more than ever, why women drink, and what recovery looks like. Elizabeth knows about this first hand and wrote about her issues around alcohol, addiction and anxiety in her memoir, Between Breaths: A Memoir of Panic and Addiction. Elizabeth and Katie talk to two women — Khadi Oluwatoyin and Emily Paulson who hit their own rock…

MORE HARM THAN GOOD? – April 30, 2022 – To do better, the United States needs more evidence-based treatment. And since the data shows that the best treatment is compassionate and inviting, coercion should be the last resort, not the first. Mr. Norelli opposes compulsory drug treatment. He feels that being forced into treatment can push people in the other direction if they are not ready to quit. “Of the hundred people that came in at the same time I did, only a few completed it,” he said, adding that he is still disturbed by the “humiliating” way they were…

VIDEO – BEAT THEM TO THE PUNCH – April 29, 2022 – Entertainer Terry Crews joins Hoda Kotb and Jenna Bush Hager to discuss his new memoir, “Tough: My Journey to True Power,” which takes readers behind the curtain to show where his story began. “I learned a lot of bad lessons, and that took years to overcome,” he says. more@Today

UP IN SMOKE – April 28, 2022 – Menthol, a chemical derived from the mint plant that can also be made in a lab, is added to cigarettes to make smoking less harsh, providing a cooling sensation in the throat and making the experience more appealing. more@NYT

MONEY MONEY MONEY – April 25, 2022 – The companies have denied the allegations, saying that they sold opioid medications that were prescribed by doctors. The defendants will make their opening statements in the case on Tuesday. San Francisco has been hit hard by the opioid crisis, which has caused more than 500,000 overdose deaths nationwide in the past two decades, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. San Francisco County received more than 163 million prescription pain pills from 2006 to 2014, which amounts to 22 pills per resident per year, according to the city.…

IT’S ALL IN YOUR … YOU KNOW – April 28, 2022 – To better understand the benefits of mindfulness, a team of psychologists led by Lisa Best of the University of New Brunswick in Canada conducted an in-depth personality study on 781 Canadian adults. “The focus of our laboratory is to determine how specific psycho-social factors, including mindfulness, affect psychological and physical wellness,” said Best. While most research on mindfulness and personality has focused on mindfulness’ connection to the Big Five personality dimensions (i.e., emotional stability, extraversion, conscientiousness, agreeableness, and openness), Best and her team took a more nuanced look…

VIDEO ONLY – SMASH STIGMA, SAVE LIVES – April 27, 2022 – Dr. Omar Abubaker shares the story of his son’s losing battle with heroin addiction. Dr. Abubaker believes that his son, Adam’s addiction began after being prescribed pain meds after a sports injury in high school. Adam subsequently died of a heroin overdose in 2014. more@YouTube

AUDIO – LIFE SAVING SITES – April 28, 2022 – MCCLURG: At the time, he was grappling with his sexuality in a conservative town in Virginia. MCCOY: I wasn’t quite in the closet, but I wasn’t really open about the fact that I was gay. MCCLURG: He spent the next decade high, homeless and near the brink. At 24, McCoy learned he was HIV positive. He was staying in a cheap hotel in San Francisco. MCCOY: I weighed 110 pounds. I had psoriasis all over my body, injecting every day, couch-surfing when I could, trading sex for drugs or a…

VIDEO – A BETTER LIFE TOO – April 27, 2022 – She later moved to London, as she needed medical treatment following an accident after she overdosed. “I’d caused myself a severe head injury through an overdose and the only way that they could treat that was with three and a half years of reconstructive plastic surgery.” There she worked for a modelling agency and met famous faces. It was not until she found out that she was pregnant with her son that she managed to kick the habit. more@ITV

VIDEO – DOING HER BEST – April 28, 2022 – “I saw it as an opportunity to combine two things that I am really passionate about which is running and advocating for people with substance use disorders and their families,” Hufnagle said. It’s a mission that she says is everything important to her. “Being a bright light in the community, helping people who suffer from addiction, achieve and maintain sobriety and be back with their families again,” Hufnagle said. Now, with less than a week until this year’s marathon, Caroline has raised about $800 for Light of Life. “Hopefully in…

AUDIO – ROSECRANCE PRODUCED – April 27, 2022 – Tune in while Rosecrance’s Director of Alumni Relations Colleen Fry and Paul Gilmet who is the Director of Access at Rosecrance’s Lakeview Campus join WGN’s John Williams to discuss the “shame” and stigma associated with living a life in recovery. more@WGNRadio

VIDEO – EARLY AND OFTEN – April 28, 2022 – “You have to have a very direct conversation,” she said. “You have to say, ‘I’m not saying you’re going to do it, but in the event you’re around people and doing it, I want you to be aware of what’s going on.’” Fentanyl has become the driving force in many drug overdose deaths, especially since it can be laced in recreational narcotics. Adults and juveniles are unknowingly consuming the opioid without realizing fentanyl is in it. Community Services, the public behavioral health provider for individuals with serious mental illness, substance…

VIDEO – WHAT GOOD? – April 26, 2022 – “This school keeps those students separate from the general education students, so they can work on their recovery and continue in their recovery and not be subject to those negative influences,” she said. Fried said the funding needed to implement the program is two-pronged. One part of the money is for educational purposes and — because Hope Academy is a regional school — is subject to the General Assembly’s budget approval. The other part will allocate $300,000 to the county’s Department of Behavioral Health ad Developmental Services to pay for five…

SOUNDS COMPLICATED – April 27, 2022 – And, she says it all comes down to how it makes her feel. “I’m not saying you have to be like that. I’m saying for me, that’s how I feel the best. When I was in Costa Rica, somebody described the purpose of alcohol with plant medicine: you use alcohol to extract the essence of a plant. And I thought, ‘That is exactly how alcohol makes me feel. As though it is extracting my essence.’” Outside of staying sober, Fox practices self care by connecting to her “super consciousness” and connecting to her…